Saturday, May 24, 2014

Brazos Bend, with a Friend

My good friend Debbie joined me yesterday, for a lovely
daytrip to Brazos Bend State Park.Debbie is not a focused birder, as that would be too limiting of an
adjective for her extraordinary life.I’ll
share with you one of her many extraordinary attributes:

She is planning a trip to Antarctica.No, no—that’s not what’s most extraordinary.Here it is:when Debbie visits Antarctica, she will have spent time on EVERY
continent of this great big world.Can
you imagine?

Although not a birder, she is an extraordinary
outdoorswoman, and we had a great time.

It was a treat for me to have a friend in the
field, who shares a love of Mother Nature’s creation. And Brazos Bend’s summer residents put on their own
extraordinary showing for my friend:

The bird of the day was certainly the Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron, or as Debbie nick-named them:those Stormy-Night Ones:

We had great fun watching the locals move about the
springtime-fresh Lotus plants:

And do you see it? This one is what makes this park memorable to
most visitors:

See it now?

And if you know the name of this beautiful flowering
vine, please share:

The summertime Purple Gallinules were out and about:

And a lovely Great Egret displayed for us, in a purple-blooming
field of Water Hyacinth.Do you know
which one doesn’t belong here?—and is terribly destructive to the habitat?

And the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks gave Debbie a good
show throughout the day, with their unique face, behavior and whistling calls:

Thanks, Deb, for joining me.What a fun day! I hope Brazos Bend memories
will help keep you warm when traveling to Antarctica…